Raleigh, NC– This afternoon, SB 353 (formerly known as HB 695) passed the NC House of Representatives in a vote of 74-41. “We are appalled but not surprised that the House has passed SB 353 in a largely party-line vote. This bill is the most egregious attack on women’s reproductive rights and safety that we’ve seen in over 40 years. This bill will severely limit women’s access to safe and legal abortion care to the detriment of North Carolina women. The sponsors of SB 353 have shown an utter disregard for women’s health and safety, continuously putting anti-choice political ideology over fair process and democracy,” said Suzanne Buckley, Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina.

“Now, all eyes are on the Governor. He made a campaign promise to voters back in October that he would not support any further restrictions on access to safe and legal abortion care in our state, and we are going to hold him to his word. If the Governor wants to be known as a man of character, he will veto this bill. North Carolinians are watching and they will remember this in 2016,” said Buckley.

“The extreme anti-choice majority’s surreptitious attack on women’s health is not the kind of leadership North Carolina voters deserve,” Buckley continued. “The women’s health advocates and reproductive rights supporters who showed up to fill the gallery today at the NCGA, and who have been at the General Assembly for weeks will not be silenced by empty promises or word-games, and they will be ready to hold their lawmakers accountable,” she said.

RALEIGH – Today the North Carolina House of Representatives approved S.B. 353, a motorcycle safety bill that was rewritten to be one of the nation’s most sweeping proposals to limit access to reproductive health care. It now heads to the Senate.

Sarah Preston, policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, released the following statement:

“It is extremely disappointing that House members have approved such sweeping restrictions on women’s health care options just one day after this proposal was unveiled to the public. This legislation is not designed to protect women’s health; it is designed to shut down clinics and restrict access to comprehensive and often lifesaving health care, pure and simple. A woman’s decision whether or not to carry a pregnancy to term is not only extremely personal but also constitutionally protected. However, that private, constitutionally protected choice is rendered meaningless if women in North Carolina are prevented from having safe access to abortion care, as this bill would do for countless women across our state.”